Under a $12M contract, Rockwell has already supplied 15 of the 33 new control systems for the project. The systems will be located at seven different sites in the Snowy Mountains to help improve revenues at control costs for the project’s owner and operator, Snowy Hydro Ltd.
“The enhanced monitoring and control is a key factor in delivering efficiencies and high-service availability in the highly competitive national electricity market in which we operate,” said Darryl Eager, Snowy Hydro manager of Controls Technology. “Establishing greater connectivity between different systems provides us with the controls and plant reliability that are essential to customer satisfaction and our continued success. Using its integrated architecture driven by Allen-Bradley ControlLogix programmable automation controllers, the Rockwell Automation solution provides unrivaled connectivity via a wide range of communications protocols.”
The controls upgrade work is expected to be completed in 2012. The Snowy Moutains scheme consists of a network of seven power stations, 31 generating units, a pumping station, two pump units, 16 dams and 209km of tunnels and aqueducts.
